Help with your Mediation Costs

Mediation is already a quicker, cheaper and far more satisfactory option than going to court and the good news is that there is additional help available to make it even more accessible to everyone. Below are the ways that both the government and we can help.

Free Mediation for matters involving Children.

If mediation includes children’s arrangements, you can have your first mediation session for free. Once you have attended your MIAMs and mediation is assessed as suitable, we can apply for a government mediation voucher to cover the costs of your first joint mediation session. Often matters can be resolved in just one session. Should you need a follow up session within 3 months, you are on a low income and eligible for our Oasis Scheme, we can offer you a follow up session for just £48

Legal Aid

If you are on a low income or benefits you may be entitled to legal aid. You can check if this might apply to you online at https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid.

We do not currently offer legally aided mediation. If you think you might be entitled to legal aid let us know and we can give you contact details of Legal Aid mediation providers who can help you.

The Oasis Scheme

‘What if I can’t find a legal aid service who can help me quickly or I am not entitled to legal aid?’

If you aren’t entitled to legal aid but would struggle to pay standard mediation fees, we may be able to help you. Our Oasis scheme offering special reduced rates was set up during the pandemic, but we know things are still difficult for many people.

If you would like to apply for our reduced rates, we ask you to complete a short financial eligibility questionnaire. Those who would be eligible for legally aided mediation would be automatically eligible for the Oasis scheme if you would prefer to use us.

Our Special reduced rates for child arrangement mediation if you are on a low income
(in-person appointments at our Swindon Offices or online nationally only):

MIAM – £48

 Mediation Sessions:
             First joint mediation meeting –free with the government mediation voucher
             Follow up mediation meeting (within 3 months) – £48

Why trying mediation makes good financial sense

Each mediation is unique and how long it takes to resolve will be affected by a number of factors. However, below are some typical mediation costs for different situations to give you an idea of overall costs and timescales (all names have been changed of course!).

Mediation is encouraged before resorting to solicitors and courts because it is much cheaper and faster and normally results in a way forward that is fair and practical for you. It also keeps discussions private avoiding the damaging publicity of a legal battle.

In most cases mediation costs will come in under £1000 per person. Compare this with the potential cost of litigation and court which can easily run to tens of thousands per person.

Sorting out child arrangements

Laura and Chris split up two years ago.  They could not agree on how their two children would spend time with each parent.  Contact, holidays, special events and decisions about parenting, education and medical matters were difficult to deal with and a source of conflict. However, they both wanted to find a better way to communicate and reduce the stress for themselves and the children. They came to us and, in just one two hour mediation, managed to find a way forward.  They also chose to come back for a follow up meeting to review how the new arrangements were working. They took advantage of the government mediation voucher scheme to further reduce the costs of mediation.

Resolving a commercial dispute or a single issue family matter

Margaret, Alan, Carol and Paul, the 4 brothers and sisters in the Wood family argued over the terms of their mother’s will after her death.  The oldest sister, Margaret had sold her own house and moved in with her mother to look after her nearly 20 years ago.  Alan and Carol wanted to sell the house as soon as possible and take the equal shares (as described in the will).  Paul felt very strongly that Margaret should be allowed to continue to live in the house as Margaret would not have enough money to buy somewhere to live.  Margaret was upset at the prospect of being homeless. During the mediation the brothers and sisters had a chance to discuss how they felt about the situation. By the end of the meeting they had worked out a number of options and decided a fair way forward together.

Agreeing a financial settlement when couples are separating

Adeel and Jawaria had decided to separate after 8 years of marriage. Whilst they were parting on good terms, they wanted to make sure that their finances were properly agreed and that this would stand the test of time.  They each looked into the best way of reaching a settlement and decided to come to mediation so that they did not spend time and money with solicitors and at court.

After they had jointly identified their options they each sought specialist advice before coming together to make decisions.

Resolving a dispute between two work colleagues

Colin and Gary both work in a customer care team in a household products company.  They used to have a very good relationship but this had gradually deteriorated over a period of time. In the past year however, Colin had been promoted and was now Gary’s supervisor.  Almost immediately they had started  making formal complaints about each other, which had resulted in a disciplinary and a grievance procedure.  Their manager was concerned that the situation would eventually result in both being dismissed (which would be unpleasant for everyone and potentially expensive for the company) and had asked the HR department to intervene.  They asked LBA to run a mediation process to try to resolve Colin and Gary’s dispute.

After meeting with each party, the mediator ran a session to identify why they were finding it difficult to work together and to look at and agree a way forward.